Chapter Eleven: "Hostile Hosts"
Technical Sergeant Brian Coffin, United States Air Force **Alpha Team Leader - ODA 2525, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant / Landing Bay *April 20th, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 "I said come out." Brian continued to step closer to the crates as the pilot spoke again, his trigger finger slipping into the trigger guard and resting onto the trigger. Then came the sound of a screw falling in the distance. The Pararescue operator froze, the realization dawning that they had just been ensnared in a trap; hook, line and sinker. "Sergeant. RUN FOR THE EXIT!" The pilot shouted, and the firefight began. Brian swung his M4 up to the first source of fire, firing off two shots in rapid succession on semi-auto, and shifting fire to the next source, trying to keep the fire away from the Navy pilot who was running for the Puddle Jumper. "NO! I'm not leaving you behind!" Brian shouted over the fire, but the incoming fire was making it hard to advance. He continued to fire two-round bursts, using the crates for cover, but at this point, there was no denying it. They were pinned down and facing an enemy in a superior position, and the rest of the team was elsewhere on this hulk of a ship. Reluctantly, he started moving backwards, continuing to fire on the enemy. "Go! Warn the rest!" The pilot ordered, as the door to the Puddle Jumper shut. Brian muttered a curse under his breath as he fell back to the exit, swinging around to the doorway's left side and stopped for a moment, reaching for his radio as he turned his M4 to the left to check the ejection port. He called ahead to the Major and the team on their scavenger hunt. =^= Sierra Zero-One, this is Sierra Zero-Six, be advised, Battleaxe is surrounded by unknown number of hostiles, and I am unable to reach position. Say again, Battleaxe has been surrounded by hostile forces and I am unable to assist. How copy, over? =^= Brian reached for another magazine as the bolt was locked back and the chamber was empty, tapping the magazine release with his right index finger to drop the empty mag out. It clattered to the floor as Brian replaced it with a loaded magazine, and slapped the bolt release with the heel of his left hand, chambering a new round. Footsteps closed on his position, and Brian turned, following the corridor to the right. =^=Sierra Zero-One, be advised, I am displacing. Zero-Six out.=^= Brian began running, turning only to check his flank before continuing deeper into the ship. ---- *Corporal Jayden Kells, United States Army **Field Medic, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant / Corridor *April 22nd, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 One moment, Engineering had been 'quiet' and relatively safe, and the next all hell had broken loose. An explosion somewhere on another deck had shaken the whole ship, and then the power faltered. In the next instant, the power had flickered out, followed quickly by a blinding flash of light and another explosion in Engineering that knocked Jayden out the door and off her feet. Struggling to get up, she shook her head to clear the ringing, then shouted for the others. "Major!" But rifle fire pushed her back and she was forced to turn and run... ...Well, stagger, anyway. She hadn't really had time to take stock, but she knew she was bleeding from the head and her knee hurt like hell, although desperation made it easy to push that aside. Drawing her pistol, she hesitated long enough to turn and shoot, causing them to hold back long enough for her duck around a corridor, nearly colliding with someone. "NO!" The shout was instinctive, fueled by fear as she raised her pistol, stopping short of pulling the trigger as she recognized the uniform, if not the man. "Hell!" she snapped, sagging against the bulkhead, her legs trembling. ---- *Lieutenant Commander Sarah King, Royal Navy **Commander, Air Group, USS Sovereign **Piloting F-370 **IBS Valiant Airspace *April 22nd, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 As Sarah finished her fly over she keyed her coms and called Battleaxe, "Battleaxe this is Valkyrie give me a sitrep over?" Sarah started to make her way back to the shuttle bay that the Puddle Jumper was in and to check on them and the rest of the team in the ship. ---- *Technical Sergeant Brian Coffin, United States Air Force **Alpha Team Leader - ODA 2525, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant / Corridor *April 23rd, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 Gunfire echoed behind him as Brian bounded over a fallen bulkhead, the ricochets sparking ahead of him. The instant his boots hit the deck plating, he was back to running, aiming for a corner in the corridor. He pivoted around, beginning to back-pedal as he lifted his M4, aiming in the direction of the attackers, and began firing. The rounds only found bulkheads as their mark, but it did give pause to his pursuers long enough to reach the corner, which he twisted around and planted his back against the wall. Brian shifted his stance so that his M4's stock was against his left shoulder, allowing him to lean out without exposing himself too much, before gunfire echoed down the corridor he had just entered into. He started to turn to face it before a figure darted around the corner, pistol drawn. His trigger finger was milligrams from the break weight, the AimPoint red-dot scope leveled on the target before he shifted his finger off, recognizing the other medic they came in with. "Hell!" The woman said, before sliding down the bulkhead. "Hold that thought." Brian shifted back to his previous stance, and leaned out to engage his pursuers. Smoothly, he brought the sights to bear on the first one's head, and a double-tap of 5.56mm NATO put that one down. He leaned back around the corner as the other one sprayed gunfire his way. The Pararescue operator gritted his teeth, sliding down into a crouch, and leaned back out. Brian leveled the red-dot onto the target's center of mass, and squeezed off a tight grouping of four shots in two round bursts. With that dealt with, Brian advanced back up to the medic. "Well, this op's just getting off swimmingly." He said, offering her a hand. "Here, we need to get out of this corridor for a second, you're wounded." Brian looked around for a moment, and spotted a door back the way he came. He approached it, left shoulder planted against the bulkhead as he reached for the latch, wincing at the sharp pain in his shoulder. Glancing down for a moment, he could see his left shoulder had caught at least one passing round along it, leaving a small splat of blood where he had put his shoulder. Brian gritted his teeth, and threw open the door, leaning in to find some sort of pilot's ready room, but it appeared to be empty. He stepped inside, checking around for anyone hiding among the chairs or behind the desks, before returning to the doorway. "Room clear, move up." Brian said, covering the corridor. Once they were both inside, Brian shut the door behind them. "I will be absolutely amazed if any of us get out of this injury free." Brian said with a slight grin, shaking his head, "I think I took part of that last burst along my left shoulder. But I'm more concerned about your head." Brian approached the medic, lifting up his NVGs and pulled out a Mini Mag-Lite flashlight from his tactical vest, twisting the LED light on and began to locate and inspect the wound. "Don't worry, unlike the rest of the knuckle-draggers, I know there's more to medicine than slapping on a Batman band-aid and charging back into the fray." Brian said with a touch of humor, "Besides, the Air Force knew someone would have to go in and save their cowboy swaggering pilots from themselves, hence, PJs. I'm Sergeant Coffin, by the way. Brian Coffin. Most folks seem to have forgotten my name already." He had already fallen back onto his humor as the PJ checked over the head wound, which would either come off as grossly unprofessional or more truthfully, a means for dealing with stress. ---- *Corporal Jayden Kells, United States Army **Field Medic, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant / Pilot's Lounge *April 23rd, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 Grateful for the brief respite, and that she didn't have to deal with the immediate threat, Jayden took the opportunity to let her head clear and gathered her thoughts. They had to find out what happened to the crew in Engineering. "Room clear, move up." Brian said, covering the corridor. Once they were both inside, Brian shut the door behind them. Struggling to her feet, Jayden limped inside the relatively protected room, then sank gratefully into a chair. "Thanks," she murmured, grinning, then frowning as she noticed the blood on his shoulder. "I will be absolutely amazed if any of us get out of this injury free." Brian said with a slight grin, shaking his head, "I think I took part of that last burst along my left shoulder. But I'm more concerned about your head." Brian approached the medic, lifting up his NVGs and pulled out a Mini Mag-Lite flashlight from his tactical vest, twisting the LED light on and began to locate and inspect the wound. "Too late for that," she muttered, forcing herself to relax and let him check her over. Then it would be his turn. "You sure you know what you're doing? I'm supposed to be the medic, after all." "Don't worry, unlike the rest of the knuckle-draggers, I know there's more to medicine than slapping on a Batman band-aid and charging back into the fray." Brian said with a touch of humor, "Besides, the Air Force knew someone would have to go in and save their cowboy swaggering pilots from themselves, hence, PJs. I'm Sergeant Coffin, by the way. Brian Coffin. Most folks seem to have forgotten my name already." He had already fallen back onto his humor as the PJ checked over the head wound, which would either come off as grossly unprofessional or more truthfully, a means for dealing with stress. "No Batman band-aids?" She stuck out her lower lip in a pout, then held out her hand. "Corporal Kells, Jayden...good to meet you...and how do you forget a name like Coffin?" She chuckled, then winced at the pain in her head. "When you're done, I'll check your shoulder." Her grin widened. "Provided, of course, you declare that I still have a pulse." Then her attitude sobered. "Either way, we have to get back to Engineering and find out what happened to the others...we got separated." ---- *''Lieutenant Colonel Alem Maruki, United States Army (PCNPC)'' **Executive, USS Sovereign **Bridge - Deck One *April 23rd, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 Alem paced the Bridge -- what was left of it -- his focus on the Communications station and the young ensign manning it. The look on the kid's face told him what he needed to know... "There's nothing, Sir," the young man declared, "no communications with the boarding team." Taking a breath, Alem nodded, although inside, he was cursing. "Contact the air group, see if they can get through." It had been some time since they had been in contact with the teams, and he wasn't sure if it was just a glitch, something wrong at the other end, or something more dire. "Yes, sir." Turning back to the radio, the ensign keyed up the mic. "Sovereign to Valkyrie, we've lost communications with the team, can you get hold of them?" ---- *Technical Sergeant Brian Coffin, United States Air Force **Alpha Team Leader - ODA 2525, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant / Pilot's Lounge *April 23rd, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 "No Batman band-aids?" She stuck out her lower lip in a pout, then held out her hand. "Corporal Kells, Jayden...good to meet you...and how do you forget a name like Coffin?" She chuckled, then winced at the pain in her head. "When you're done, I'll check your shoulder." Her grin widened. "Provided, of course, you declare that I still have a pulse." Then her attitude sobered. "Either way, we have to get back to Engineering and find out what happened to the others...we got separated." "Yeah, unfortunately, our pilot is also in danger. I was trying to link up with you all to retake the hanger. Unknown number of hostiles, and I think she's wounded." Brian explained. "Also, good news, it's just a cut, and you won't even need stitches." Brian rummaged in his pack for his medical supplies, pulling out bandages to apply on the wound. "Truth be told, Kells, they gave me crap in SG:X, Superman School and even BMT for my name. Bad omen, everyone said." Brian smirked, as he finished applying the dressings. "Alright, there you go. Should hold you over til we get back to the ship." Brian said, "Guess it's my turn now." ---- *Corporal Jayden Kells, United States Army **Field Medic, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant / Pilot's Lounge *April 25th, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 "Yeah, unfortunately, our pilot is also in danger. I was trying to link up with you all to retake the hanger. Unknown number of hostiles, and I think she's wounded." Brian explained. "Also, good news, it's just a cut, and you won't even need stitches." "Thank goodness!" she quipped, rolling her eyes, "I think I'd be in more danger from you wielding a needle!" She laughed, then shook her head. "We'll get back to the shuttle." Hopefully, the others could meet them there. Brian rummaged in his pack for his medical supplies, pulling out bandages to apply on the wound. "Truth be told, Kells, they gave me crap in SG:X, Superman School and even BMT for my name. Bad omen, everyone said." Brian smirked, as he finished applying the dressings. "Alright, there you go. Should hold you over til we get back to the ship." Brian said, "Guess it's my turn now." "Revenge!" Jayden grinned, then tore away enough of his sleeve to get a good look at his wound. "Honestly, I don't have my Sesame Street band-aids with me, so gauze is going to have to do." She examined the wound then wrapped it. "Nothing life-threatening," she announced, "but it will leave a nice scar to impress the ladies!" Then her smile faded. "So, Engineering or shuttlebay? I defer to your experience and rank." ---- *Technical Sergeant Brian Coffin, United States Air Force **Alpha Team Leader - ODA 2525, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant / Pilot's Lounge *April 26th, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 "Revenge!" Jayden grinned, then tore away enough of his sleeve to get a good look at his wound. "Honestly, I don't have my Sesame Street band-aids with me, so gauze is going to have to do." She examined the wound then wrapped it. "Nothing life-threatening," she announced, "but it will leave a nice scar to impress the ladies!" "Hey, as long as it doesn't attract my crazy ex back in England. Whoof, that was an ordeal..." Brian winced. "Let me tell you, they're as crazy over there as they are over here...and that's not quite the best use of directional pronouns when we're in SPACE." He looked over the dressing, flexing his left hand a few times. It stung, but he still had full range of motion. "So, Engineering or shuttlebay? I defer to your experience and rank." Jayden said. Brian frowned, thinking it over for a moment as he swapped out the partially expended magazine with a fresh one, inserting it into the M4's magazine well. "We're going to have to link up with the others. The Puddle Jumper's surrounded by an unknown number of hostiles and the hanger's dark as a cave. We're gonna need more shooters, and frankly, I don't think we went into this with our eyes open." Brian explained, "They're clearly not as shaken as we were. Probably because they didn't have a mess of charges gut their ship...I swear if I get my hands around those traitors' necks..." Brian paused for a moment, before pocketing his flashlight into his tactical vest. "Alright, break time is over. We'll head back to engineering, grab the others, retake the hanger... and go from there. We'll take it nice and slow, check your corners, watch your angles, eyes and ears." Brian said, opening the door slowly back into the hallway, setting his NVGs back over his eyes. He checked both ways, spotting no one in their vicinity, save for the bodies of the crew he had shot already. Brian approached one of them, kneeling down and inspected their weapon. "Ah. Dibs. Here, take my rifle, it'll use your mags, good thing for STANAGs, right?" Brian said, handing Jayden his M4, and picked up the crewman's rifle, an FN F2000 assault rifle, fitted with a MARS red-dot sight and integrated flashlight in the foregrip. Brian reloaded the rifle with a magazine off of the dead man's ammo supply, and restocked his own supply from the ammo. "Alright, I'm on point. Let's get moving." Brian said, shouldering the F2000 and stepping forward, back in the direction that the medic had nearly run into him from. He reached for his radio with his off hand. =^= Any callsigns on this net, this is Sierra Zero-Six, how copy, over? =^= ---- *Sergeant First Class Scott Powers, United States Army **Chief of the Boat, USS Sovereign **Commander, ODA 2525 **IBS Valiant Main Engineering - Small Armory *May 1st, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 Gun rattling drew the attention of the dynamic and shocked duo. The second thing that drew attention was that it was aimed at them. Tools jumped up as smoothly as he could, his body still a bit spasmy. "Time to move." he growled as the slugs started raining on their location. He grabbed Simon by one arm and pushed/dragged him after Shifty. Scott was already up taking advantage of what little cover there was present, Leaning around the corner, he flipped the fire selector on his weapon to semi-auto and returned fire in controlled two round bursts. "Let's go Major!" Single pops left the muzzle as Tools followed, "Smart plan, Sarge!" The one-handed shooting wasn't effective but it could help as suppressive fire. "Where's Kells!?" Tools shouted as they walked past the corner into a corridor. "No idea, Sir!" Scott replied as he swapped out mags on his H&K416, pulling back the charging handle he moved ahead of the Major and their guest, "I think I heard some kind of comm chatter from one of the PJs that tagged along, beyond that no idea. Might have been to assist him?!" "Let's hope so, I'd hate to go back in there!" He followed Scott, "Shifty armory!" He referred to the door, three bulkheads up. "Set!" He called out indicating that he was in a position to provide covering fire for the Major, now all he needed to hear was 'moving' to open up and lay down fire on their aggressors. In his helmet he was checking his HUD, his team was still all up, which was a good sign. Using voice commands and the chin switch, he flipped his status light to red, indicating injury or enemy contact and to move/act with extreme caution. "Moving!" He shouted, pushing Simon forward past the bulkheads. He opened the hatch and pushed Simon in, his hands behind his back and he tripped on the portal, face first. "Set!" He shouted in his comm, taking a knee, pressed against the wall, taking aim through the red-dot sight. Pulling the trigger, his rifle responded with a solid 'thwack' as the bolt locked back, "Shit, jam! Moving" He said calmly into his own mic as he transitioned to his sidearm and moved through the hatch, stepping on Simon's back, by accident as he entered the room clearing the other side and tapping Tools' shoulder. "Clear." Using his single shot mode he fired several rounds at moving objects, using his experience as designated marksman and field-trained sniper to try and pick his targets as best as he could. Standing up, his rifle still against his shoulder, he squeezed off another three rounds, hearing a moan of pain and a small smile of victory crept up as he stepped in. "Lock it up!" Stepping back towards the hatch, Scott holstered his Glock and grabbed a piece of fallen piping and slammed the hatch shut with his shoulder, spinning the locking wheel all the way down, he slid the pipe though jamming the hatch closed, "We're secure... for now Major." He replied as he looked around the room, "I suggest we restock while we can, Major you first, I'll watch Simon." "My thoughts exactly." He looked around, "No mags compatible with the M4." He thumbed the safety and set it down. "Pick another rifle, Shifty." He looked at the racks and grabbed a Steyr AUG A1 with scope. "I did always have a thing for bull-pup designs." Grabbing appropriate ammo and stuffing them in his belt. Grumbling to himself about switching from his H&K he traded guard spots with tools and nabbed a F2000 Tactical from the shelf, it was compact and quite the weapon. He'd had the privilege of using one, a few times before when working with a joint European unit that favored them. He refilled his vest's mag pouches and grabbed a box of .40 cal for his Glock and began reloading each spent mag. "Next step?" "Check in, find a route to gather up, get that jumper back or find another way out. But first, protein bar and water, while we have a few seconds." He grabbed the small rations from his jacket. A man never leaves home without it. Pushing his hand against his ear, as most helmet movie war stars did he began to request locations and status from his team and those that had been attached to them, but nothing was getting in till he heard a very soft call. =^= Any callsigns on this net, this is Sierra Zero-Six, how copy, over? =^= =^= Sierra Six-Zero, this is Street Fighter Actual, we hear you but faintly, over!? =^= But the comm line died, "Damn it, I had some one but lost it, I say we push up a parallel route and then move over once we are at or past the hanger point." "If Sierra Six-Zero is requesting call signs it's safe to assume that the hanger has been compromised." He took a bite, "We move three corridors forward, we try again. I don't want to get too close. The jumper was the best fortified position, if we get radio with Battleaxe we'll move forward, otherwise we'll search around the hanger. Agreed?" "Roger," Scott replied as he made sure his H&K was secured behind his back and lead with the new F2000, cracking the far door on the armor he checked the hall. "Clear moving." He said over his shoulder as he crossed the hall, rifle up; it's bright LED flash light shining through the darkness. Shadows moved as he took cover behind a support beam, things were about to get 'fun' yet again. "Possible contact forward, 10 meters." ---- *Technical Sergeant Brian Coffin, United States Air Force **Alpha Team Leader - ODA 2525, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant / Pilot's Lounge *Corporal Jayden Kells, United States Army **Field Medic, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant / Pilot's Lounge *May 2nd, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 "Ah. Dibs. Here, take my rifle, it'll use your mags, good thing for STANAGs, right?" Brian said, handing Jayden his M4, and picked up the crewman's rifle, an FN F2000 assault rifle, fitted with a MARS red-dot sight and integrated flashlight in the foregrip. Brian reloaded the rifle with a magazine off of the dead man's ammo supply, and restocked his own supply from the ammo. "Ah, how come you get the good toys?" Jayden grinned as she accepted the rifle then took up a position at his right shoulder. "Ready when you are," she muttered. "Alright, I'm on point. Let's get moving." Brian said, shouldering the F2000 and stepping forward, back in the direction that the medic had nearly run into him from. He reached for his radio with his off hand. =^= Any callsigns on this net, this is Sierra Zero-Six, how copy, over? =^= =^= Sierra Six-Zero, this is Street Fighter Actual, we hear you but faintly, over!? =^= "That's the other team!" Jayden called, relieved that they were alive and sounded unscathed. "I'm right behind you," she added, anxious to meet back up with Tools and Shifty. "I called dibs, remember?" Brian grinned back at Jayden, pausing at the sound of the faint voice on the other end of the radio. =^= Street Fighter Actual, Sierra Six-Zero, you're fading out. Requesting SITREP, over? =^= Brian said into his radio, before looking back at Jayden, "Well, better get a move on. They may be further away than we thought." Brian started forward, "Might have to give me directions, I left my TomTom at home. And I don't think they support, well...space." "That's what you get for buying the bargain brand!" She chuckled, her attention on the surroundings. Smoke hung just over their heads and debris littered the deck, but so far there was no indication of enemies. So far so good....maybe with Tools and Shifty, they could take back the shuttle bay...otherwise, getting back would be a challenge! "Yeah, yeah, yeah. My equipment, lowest bidder. Except my Mag-Lite. Best twenty-five bucks I spent." Brian stepped carefully over a piece of fallen bulkhead, continuing on ahead, his Belgian-made rifle sweeping carefully around their surroundings, "These guys are playing it like guerrillas, hit and fade. They're stringing us out, and I don't like it. I just hope we found something useful on this trash-heap these traitors call a ship." Brian tensed for a second, a shadow seemingly having been there and disappearing around a corner. He squeezed lightly on the activation stud for the flashlight, but nothing was there as he let go and turned it off. "...really don't like this. Watch your angles, and don't discount the possibility of tripwire traps..." Brian said quietly. "Great, traps...all the more fun," Jayden murmured dryly, trying to pick out any threats from the rolling smoke and arcing wires. "Kinda quiet, huh?" She almost wished they would be attacked, since it would end the suspense. "Too quiet." Brian replied as he approached the corner. "Cover me." He approached the corner, putting his back to the wall and shifted the F2000 from his right shoulder to his left before leaning out, and then quickly leaning back as several gunshots rang out. "Yeah, and I was just getting bored of space and wanting to go home! Thanks, guys!" Brian shouted, and let go of the rifle to open up a pouch on his vest, and pulled out a flashbang grenade. "Ah who am I kidding, right? Flash out." He said to warn Jayden, before lobbing it around the corner. Brian closed his eyes and turned away, pressing his right ear against his shoulder to preserve some of his hearing as the stun grenade went off. He leaned back out and clicked on the flashlight to check the people around the corner. When he called out the flashbang, Jayden ducked down and covered her ears, although the concussion was still loud and reverberated in her chest. Slipping up behind Brian, she whispered, "Did you get 'em?" Several members of the crew, it appeared, had dug into a defensive position in the crossing of several corridors, using the debris for cover. Once his targets were confirmed, Brian brought his rifle to bear and began firing, "Contacts front! Guess they want us to stay split up!" He called out to Jayden as two of the defenders dropped. More gunfire forced Brian back around the corner for cover. "Since when did we really ever pay attention to what someone else wanted?" Grinning, Jayden dropped down, shimmying along the floor to get a lower angle at the defenders. "So, on three, we hit 'em again?" she asked, readying the rifle. "Or are you going to try to blow more of them up?" "I'm not inclined to frag them, partly because I'm afraid this," He turned to direct the rest of his voice at the enemy, "WORTHLESS RUST BUCKET MIGHT BREACH INTO SPACE IF I KICK IT! I'VE SEEN SHEDS PUT TOGETHER BETTER!" Brian finished, almost seeming to enjoy the taunting as another burst of gunfire replied, as well as some obscenities drowned out by the gunfire. "I'll suppress, you try to get a few shots in on them. On three." Brian took a breath, "One...two...three." On three, he swung his rifle around the corner, but not himself, and began firing wildly at the defenders. Despite the gravity of the situation, his antics put her at ease and she took a deep breath, waiting... A head popped up and she squeezed off a round, catching the man high in the chest, spinning him around. As he fell, another target showed and she took that one down as well, focusing only on the task at hand. She noticed only two more defenders before she was driven back by a well-placed shot that hit the deck and splintered a few inches from her nose. Brian brought his rifle back across his chest, tossing the empty magazine out of the mag well, and slapping a new one in. "When I get back to the ship, I'm using the label maker to call dibs on this rifle." He frowned as the splinters nearly caught Jayden, and leaned out, firing, "BOOO, NOBODY LIKES THE BROTHERHOOD!" He fired a few shots to get them to shift to him from Jayden, before catching one in the head with a double-tap, and shifted to catch the final target with a trio of shots to the chest, dropping the last one. "Psychological warfare, works every time. You alright?" Brian asked, still covering the defensive position. "Yeah, I'm fine." At least physically. She'd never killed anyone before, and thought that she had been ready for it, but setting it aside wasn't as easy as she thought. Even so, now wasn't the time for it. "Isn't possession nine tenths the law? Any one wants that gun, they'll have to get past me." Grinning, she scrambled to her feet, then peeked over his shoulder. "You think it's safe to move on?" "I dunno if the word safe applies to this ship. I think part of it decompressed while I was in the hanger. But I appreciate your support." He grinned back at Jayden, finding some stability in her humor in this situation. He leaned back out, and slowly stepped forward, clicking the flashlight back on as he approached. Ahead another light bounced from the hallway ahead of them. Brian ducked down behind the makeshift cover, clicking the light off, and motioned Jayden to stay down. He peeked his head up just enough to look ahead to see one figure taking cover behind a support beam. He clicked the light on once more, managing to get enough of a glimpse of the uniform to identify them. "Identify or you will be fired on!" Brian called out. ---- *Lieutenant Commander Sarah King, Royal Navy **Commander, Air Group, USS Sovereign **Piloting F-370 **IBS Valiant Airspace *May 2nd, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 "Sovereign to Valkyrie, we've lost communications with the team, can you get hold of them?" +Valkyrie+ "Valkyrie to Sovereign I have had not contact with the shuttle or team since I did my fly over the ship. I will try to get a hold of the team and the shuttle again if not I am would request a Marine Boarding Party be put together and moved over on a MC-305 for recovery of the team and the other shuttle. Valkyrie out." +Valkyrie+ "Valkyrie to Battleaxe, give me a sitrep over." +Valkyrie+ "Valkyrie to any Sovereign personnel on the Oblivion report a sitrep." Sarah was holding just outside the shuttle bay before going in and doing check for her self. ---- *''Lieutenant Colonel Alem Maruki, United States Navy (PCNPC)'' **Executive Officer, USS Sovereign **Bridge - Deck One *May 2nd, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 +Valkyrie+ "Valkyrie to Sovereign I have had not contact with the shuttle or team since I did my fly over the ship. I will try to get a hold of the team and the shuttle again if not I am would request a Marine Boarding Party be put together and moved over on a MC-305 for recovery of the team and the other shuttle. Valkyrie out." +Copy that, keep trying+ Alem shook his head, trusting his team, but concerned nonetheless. Scans had shown that there were only a handful of survivors on the other ship, and Sovereign's survival might depend on what they could salvage. +Valkyrie+ "Valkyrie to Battleaxe, give me a sitrep over." +Valkyrie+ "Valkyrie to any Sovereign personnel on the Oblivion report a sitrep." Sarah was holding just outside the shuttle bay before going in and doing check for her self. +Valkyrie, Sovereign...we're detecting escape pods leaving Oblivion...+ Seemed like the rats were abandoning the doomed ship... ---- *Major Leonard Apcaz, Royal Navy **Chief Engineering Officer, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant Corridor *Sergeant First Class Scott Powers, United States Army **Chief of the Boat, USS Sovereign **Commander, ODA 2525 **IBS Valiant Corridor *May 5th, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 Tools crept forward behind Shifty and flipped the scope open. "Taking the shot." One loud crack later brain matters scattered across the hallway and the body was limp on the ground. "Move out, next corridor left." He tapped Scott on the shoulder to move up as he yanked Simon out of the armory. Moving, one foot in front of the other, in a sort of odd shuffle. It was something he'd learned from a Navy EOD guy way back when, easy way to find and not set off trip wires and the like. Nothing so far, but that didn't mean there wasn't any further ahead. Stopping a few feet from the intersection Scott readied a flash bang in one hand while his other supported the FN assault rifle. Leaning out around the corner, a heavy burst of fire, from which Scott was knocked on to his rear in by a trio of rounds that had found him along the wall. "I'm hit." He said rather calmly. "Put pressure on it." He growled as he took Shifty's flashbang and chucked it down the hallway. "Cover me." He said afterwards, moving in, taking cover behind a fallen ceiling and using burst mode to pick off two stunned enemies until he came under fire from the third. "Scott!" He shouted, hoping that Shifty could take him out as he was pinned down by, what sounded like, a light machinegun. Groaning from the blunt force impacts against his body, Scott rolled to one side and one armed the rifle, letting off with a very wild burst followed by a much tighter grouping, "Down, he's down!" He shouted, as he crawled backwards, looking down at his vest and pulling the three bullets from his plate carrier. "Nothing got through, vest caught them." "Lucky bastard." Tools growled as he slapped the back of Shifty's helmet. "Get Simon, we're Oscar Mike." Tools checked the transparent magazine. "This thing eats bullets like crazy!" and swapped the magazine for a new one. "Left or right?" "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Was all Scott said as he reseated his helmet and moved towards, Simon, who was standing wide out in the open, "Daft idiot we have here." He said roughly grabbing the man's arm and pushing him forward, move. "Go right, it'll take us back to the spinal corridor." "Roger." He activated the comm in the meanwhile, "Sierra Six-Zero, this is Street Fighter One-Five, over?" Tools tried as he rounded a corner, rifle at the shoulder. He chose to go left at the central corridor, rounding the circle in the same way they came across engineering. "Sierra Six-Zero, this is Street Fighter One-Five come in." He tried again "We lost them, so we head back to the jumper, that's they way they went. Any idea why were down comms?" "I got lots of ideas, losing men isn't one of them. Probably localized jammers, radiation from breached engines, too busy to answer comms. But if Sierre Six-Zero is in the field, that means the Jumper has been compromised, because he was Jumper guardian." Tools tried another. "Battleaxe, this is Street Fighter One-Five, come in.". They were moving in near dark, an environment he'd been trained to love and work best in, but he knew that their were those who would oppose them that could use the dark just as well, shuffling his feet still he felt on snag. His fist flew up, and he growled, "Trip wire. Their close bye." "Do you know how?" Scott questioned as he planted Simon on his ass, and aimed the flashlight on his rifle down at the wire that was snagged on a eyelet on his boot, he traced it to its source. "We still have a pin in it, it's a flashbang." "Duct tape, pouch on my bag, just tape the handle stuck." Tools said, quite annoyed at the uncomfortable and exposed position. "Alrighty, here we go." he said grabbing the ducktape, while doing so he shuffled towards the device. Simon saw his moment and stood, and kicked Scott in the back sending him forward, setting off the device. The helmet adjusted itself a bit from the bang, but Tools lost his balance and hit the deck hard, grunting, rifle against the chest. He rolled around and aimed his rifle in Simon's general direction but didn't see squat. A stream of curses left Scott's mouth followed by a whole hell of a lot of gun fire from the direction Simon had run. They were in a bad way really exposed, "Tools I'm blind!" Tools shook off most of the sparkles as he squeezed off a few rounds. "Fire in the direction of gun fire!" He shouted as he got up and had to duck again from incoming fire. The fire selector had been knocked to safe, the trigger didn't pull. Grunt, he rolled onto his back and switched it to full auto, and gave them 2-3 round bursts, it was as they called it the mad minute. Bullets everywhere, cordite hung in the air, and the bolt locked back on his F2000. "Reloading." Tools jumped up when Shifty fired and grabbed the handle on his back to drag him out of fire. He has swung his rifle under his arm, firing literally from the hip, single shots that were semi-aimed. The fire was getting more accurate as Tools pulled him back away from the ambush, and this time his armor didn't stop the incoming rounds from the weapons aimed at them. Turning a corner a bullet grazed Tools' arm. That's when he had it, they were in the inner structure, not close to any fuel lines. "Rule 1 of starship combat, no frags." He said as he pulled a grenade from his belt and hurled it down the corridor. "Rule 2, Rule 1 does not apply to Engineers." "I'm hit, applying self aid!" Scott called out as he emptied his magazine, and reached up to his vest and ripped open a first aid kit and tourniquet. He had been hit in the upper thigh, and the suit was doing its job but the hemorrhaging was still too much for the suit to contain on its on. Using his teeth he ripped open the sterile container and grabbed the quick clot gauze and began wrapping his leg, the tourniquet in close reach just in case. Looking up as he pulled the bandage tight with a grunt he watched as the surviving members of the Oblivion's crew started moving away from cover. "Tools, their falling back!" "So it appears!" Tools was picking off several Oblivion crew off, using para-sniper techniques. As the hallway cleared out he turned around. "What's your status, Scott, plugged the leaks yet?" "Yeah, I'm plugged for now. But I was never much good at the whole medic game, so it might be best to get us to the Sovie, get me professionally patched up?" He asked trying to stand up, like the stubborn ass he was, ignoring the pain from his leg. Tools swung Scott's arm over her shoulder, "It's always the younger generation that needs to be dragged by the older" Tools taunted as he helped Scott stand, knowing well that Scott was from the same generation. "Funny, old man, really funny. Now get me home, I need a beer!... Wait do they even stock beer on these things, I forgot, the freezer must have gotten to me!?" He joked with Tools, as he sent out an all call to the team to fall back to the jumper, they were going home with what ever they'd gotten their hands on. "Aren't we missing something from main engineering anyways Major?" "Well, I was considering leaving your ass behind, but seeing as you got the better eyes these days I found it wiser to bring your ass with me." Shaking his head, "I'll send my knuckle draggers back there and get what we need, fair enough?" "Shame we didn't bring the traitor with us." "He wasn't worth it anyways, not in the condition were in now. Were along way from home, and we don't that on our hands." Scott stated simply, he wanted to agree with the Major, but in all reality Simon would have been more trouble than he was worth. Some crackle came through the radio, "Street Fighter One-Five, Sierra Six-Zero, is that you?" He checked again as he rounded another corner. ---- *Lieutenant Rachel Newton, United States Navy **Pilot, USS Sovereign **IBS Valiant Landing Bay *May 5th, 2012 **January 7th, 2025 Her eyes opened to find herself on the floor of the jumper. Still with the pain of being shot, she tried to at least sit up. The gunfire had stopped outside so it did save on getting a headache. +Valkyrie+ "Valkyrie to Battleaxe, give me a sitrep over." Rachel head the radio message coming from the front compartment. She managed to muster enough energy and through the pain managed to get to her two feet and go into the front compartment. =^=Battleaxe to Valkyrie. I am still here. Hanger is enemy controlled, not sure on the status of the boarding team. =^= Rachel stated as she fell into her pilot seat before turning to look at the window as she saw Brotherhood soldiers moving in on her jumper. =^= Valkyrie, I would move away from the hanger if I were you. =^= Rachel said while starting up the jumpers engines and readying drones. A decompression would do the trick to deal with the enemy in the hanger. She fired drones to take out the hanger shield but she knew that with the ships current state that it could do more damage than just the shields so got ready to leave the hanger. Hostile Hosts Hostile Hosts